Why a $15 minimum wage is no longer enough (with Dean Baker)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

Business, Government, News, Politics

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ever wondered what the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with inflation and productivity like it used to? Here’s a hint: $7.25, and even $15.00, don’t come close. Economist Dean Baker has been crunching the numbers on the minimum wage for years. He joins the podcast this week to share what he’s found and why it matters. Since the publication of this episode, the Center for Economic and Policy Research issued a correction to Dean Baker’s August 2021 report that a minimum wage that kept up with productivity would be $26 per hour. In fact, it would be $23 per hour. Dean Baker is a Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Twitter: @DeanBaker13 Further reading: This is What Minimum Wage Would Be If It Kept Pace with Productivity https://cepr.net/this-is-what-minimum-wage-would-be-if-it-kept-pace-with-productivity/ Work Should Pay: A $15 an Hour Minimum Wage Is a Start https://cepr.net/work-should-pay-a-15-an-hour-minimum-wage-is-a-start/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Transcript

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0:00.0	We did such a good job as a country for so long and then along comes neo-liberalism and the whole thing falls apart.
0:07.0	We actually did have a minimum wage that kept pace with productivity growth from when it was created in 1937.
0:14.0	So 1968, so three decades.
0:16.0	The difference between 725 and 27 is just mind-boggling.
0:20.0	Well, it's almost $20.
0:22.0	Hell a bit of a wage worker, you're going to get a $20 an hour raise and see how their lives would change.
0:31.0	From the home offices of civic ventures in downtown Seattle, this is pitchfork economics, with Nick Hanauer, the best place to get the truth about who gets what and why.
0:49.0	I'm Nick Hanauer, founder of Civic Ventures.
0:52.0	I'm David Goldstein, senior fellow at Civic Ventures.
1:01.0	Nick, it was very exciting. I think we talked about this on a previous podcast that in President Biden's first state of the union address, he called for a $15 minimum wage in 2022.
1:14.0	When did you first call for a $15 minimum wage?
1:18.0	All of 2012.
1:20.0	Okay, so almost a decade ago.
1:23.0	A little bit ahead of your time.
1:26.0	We do have a $15 minimum wage in a lot of places.
1:29.0	Yeah, we do.
1:30.0	And hire even in Seattle.
1:32.0	Do you know what it is right now in Seattle?
1:34.0	In Seattle, it is now 1727 an hour.
1:39.0	And.
1:41.0	Oh, my God.
1:42.0	You still have restaurants in Seattle.
	...

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